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“It’s mine,” the covered woman snapped and snatched it away before I could protest.
“Yours?”
“You said her sister, right? Well, I’m the only sister it fits now. Thank you for returning it, but there was no need to come all the way here.”
Her tone clearly said,Don’t do it again.
A white Temple coach had halted behind me, the horses snorting in impatience.
At a loss of what else to do, I stepped to the side and let her pass.
“If you care for her, don’t let her do anything rash,” I called.
The stepsister laughed behind the mask covering her face.
“When does she ever do anything else? I suggest you worry more about yourself and what it says that you came all the way here with a shoe and flimsy excuse instead of staying with your bride andservants. My stepsister, for all her faults, appreciates actions over words.”
The coach door slammed shut, the horses moving before I could find an answer.
It was not like she was wrong.
The sun was already past midday. I had a wedding to attend, and I would much rather have stayed in this empty house, waiting for a woman who no longer wanted me.
“Enough closure?” Koshka said, her eyes seeing too much.
“Enough to know it’s not over. No matter what happens tonight, I’ll return to talk to her tomorrow. Without an excuse.”
She only nodded.
Who married while worrying how to declare his love for another? For love was the only thing that would have brought me to this street today and I was too selfish to let it go.
For months, I had been telling myself I first only spent time with her to further my plans, then for information, and joy in the moment. I had never told Vanya how she had brought me back to life. I would tell her about Dasha and explain my reasons. But not on the street to win a fight. In private when we could take our time.
I needed to talk to Helia. While I had not promised fidelity, I would not hide my plans. We were allies and there would be no lies. It seemed I was bearing my heart to a woman tonight after all.
Chapter twenty-seven
Vanya
Celebrants danced to the drums under the bone trees, unknowing of the danger that would rise with the setting of the sun. For the first time I could remember, my feet did not move with theirs.
Pilgrims dressed in death-white wound between the trees holding hands and singing. In other parts of the city, people were readying for protests and battles. But here, the Day of the Dead meant games and fun, food and joy in honor of the ancestors before the harvest and preparations for winter started. This year, it meant a royal wedding.
Last night had been a flurry of activity, and I had barely slept since I decided to act, no matter what happened, to hope and leap into the unknown.
To my surprise, I had found a box of sigil-covered stones at the back door this morning. I had a good idea who my friendly sigil crafter could be, but if Popova did not want to claim her charity, I would not question it.
They reminded me of the ones on the palace walls I had passed every time I walked through its courtyard. Lumi confirmed whatthey did, as when I brought the box into the house, she struggled to follow.
Since arriving at the Bone Grove bells ago, I had pressed the stones into as many hands as I could. Some would resell them, but a few had listened to my warnings.
No one here knew anything of mixed-up brides or what I had done to save their—hated or loved—king. My hand squeezed around the sack of remaining stones. No lorist would ever tell our tale.
Despite the celebratory mood, the bloody skeleton was everywhere. An additional tension vibrated through the air. Whispers the Death Goddess would return to right old wrongs.
This night brought change.
I caught a sleeve to claim the attention of the dancers.
